It's five minutes to the start... I nervously "chit-chat" with another cat 4 rider and I hear my name called. I'm the first one at the line thanks to my dad preregistering me. A bored looking USAC official walks in front of us and starts to read the rules off of a tablet in his hand. He gets out of the way and blows the whistle. I put my head down and go.No one is ahead of me but I resist the temptation to look back. Half a lap later I finally look back and I see one person right on my wheel with no one else in sight. I put the hammer down and attack him repeatedly. Again and again, he responds and gets back on my wheel, but I can see him fading.
I head into the barriers at full speed, but my wheel clips the first one and sends me flying! I scramble to get on my bike and chase after him with anger. Coming through for the last lap I catch him. I don't even bother resting on his wheel as I blast past him at full speed. I come in to the run-up with about 5 seconds on him. I put my bike back down and hear a rattling sound, my chain has fallen off! I put it back on efficiently and chase after him. The gap is closed quickly. I sit on his wheel biding my time. We come out of the sand pit and I put in a vicious acceleration. He puts his head down in defeat, I have finally cracked him. I come into the finish line with a big smile on my face and my hands in the air. I finally won a 4's race!
Photos taken by Matt Weik
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